Estranged wife says D’Amato used kids as pawns in divorce
Former US Sen. Al D’Amato’s divorce from his decades younger wife just got even uglier — with Katuria Smith D’Amato accusing him of using their young children as pawns in the split.
“My client tells me that her children are devastated. She’s getting daily phone calls with her children asking her when can I see her again,” Smith’s attorney, Joseph De Simone, told a Nassau County judge Wednesday.
“Her son said, ‘Daddy says I’m never going to see you again.,’” De Simone recounted.
D’Amato allegedly told his 9-year-old boy, “He’s making the decisions now,” according to De Simone.
“Then he bought him a new Xbox and a new this and a new that to ply the child,” De Simone added.
The former couple agreed to share custody of Luciana, 7, and Alfonso, 9, after a court-appointed attorney for the kids told the judge they missed their mom.
“I have two clients to represent and they want to see their mother,” their lawyer, Mark Green, said.
But Smith’s three days with her children must be supervised by her mother after D’Amato’s lawyer presented evidence that she allegedly suffers from a “psychotic disorder.”
D’Amato, 80, gained temporary custody of the kids last week— two days after Smith, 51, filed for divorce after 14 years of marriage.
During a custody hearing Wednesday D’Amato’s attorney Stephen Gassman read from a hospital chart that said Smith is delusional.
“She was complaining there are people shooting green lasers at her and installing listening devices near her,” Gassman said.
He added that police took Smith to the hospital for evaluation on Sept. 30 after she called to report intruders at their Lido Beach home and was ranting about green lasers and listening devices.
“She was complaining that there are people shooting green lasers at her and installing listening devices near her,” Gassman said.
D’Amato also allegedly told cops his wife had a loaded .20 gauge shotgun, although she insists she never removed the weapon from its locked closet.
Her lawyer says she sometimes acts erratically because she suffers from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
The parties are due back in court later this month.
D’Amato served in Congress from 1981 to 1999 and now runs the successful lobbying firm Park Strategies.
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